Vivid Dreams during Pregnancy: Is there an Explanation?

Expecting? Congratulations! Pregnancy, though a happy phase in every woman’s life, comes with its own set of weird and awkward moments! Every mom to be has a different experience to share, and yet we connect to almost all our pregnant peers! One of our pet peeves include having vivid, at times, even scary dreams, occurring over all three semesters. For an expectant mother, this can be disturbing, at times, since she may worry if they mean something more.

There are many explanations about why pregnant women experience these night-time illusions. Suppressed fears of labor, impending motherhood, the health of the fetus, etc. hidden away in the subconscious mind, normally take shape in the form of these dreams. Physical and emotional changes also contribute to creating these dreams. But not all pregnancy dreams are scary. Some are soothing to the mind as well, while some may actually be amusing! Here’s what experts say your dreams could actually signify:

Dreams in the 1st Trimester:

First time moms sometimes dream of giving birth to a full grown child or even a miniature adult. Amusing at it may sound, these are perfectly normal. New mothers-to-be have no experience in childbirth, and sometimes to allay the overwhelming experience of taking care of a fragile newborn, they register an image of a grown child in their subconscious minds. Another instance of 1st trimester dreams may be due to feeling self conscious about your changing body. Some expectant moms dream of being bloated, or maneuvering heavy duty vehicles such as trucks or buses. Pregnancy dreams about large buildings, shipyards, factories, and other open spaces also signify the same thought process.

Dreams in the 2nd Trimester:

When you enter the second trimester, your thought process goes from being uninformed to being curious. You want to understand deeper, this new bond that is forming between you and your unborn child. At this stage, you might have vivid dreams where you see yourself:

Giving birth to pets – puppies, kittens, chicks. This could be because that’s the closest you have been to being a caregiver, and taking care of a small, defenseless animal is something you can relate to.

Dream of sea creatures turning into land mammals, signifying the process of evolution.

Dream of an old flame returning and erotic dreams about a romantic past. Experts believe this has something to do with you being conscious about your steadily growing body. In some corner of your mind, you wish to retain your youthful self, when you were in shape, and attractive to the opposite sex.

These dreams are like a reassurance to you that you can be as sexy and alluring as before. Mothers to be have also documented dreams about their spouse or partner cheating on them. This speaks of a woman’s insecurity about her relationship, where she feels her lover might leave her for a younger, more attractive woman. These are simply baseless fears, and it is advised that the mom to be talks to her husband and communicates her misgivings as much as possible.

Dreams in the 3rd Trimester:

With the pregnancy coming to a close, your curiosity now turns to anxiety and anticipation. You want to know who you’ll be giving birth to, a boy or a girl. Will your baby look more like you or your husband? Would everything be okay with the delivery, etc. Many vivid dreams in pregnancy depict signs and clues about the sex of the baby. While some mothers swear by these, experts remain apprehensive. Sometimes if you’re longing for a particular baby, say a girl, you’ve already made up your mind in a way, which reflects in your dreams. A few rare cases, however, exist where mothers to be have experienced prophetic dreams about startling details – the date of delivery, details of labor, where the water broke, and more.

Some moms-to-be also dream of seeing their baby’s face. From the color of the eyes, to the amount of hair it has on its head, moms have imagined seeing their baby from top to toe, sometimes with surprising accuracy! At times, even baby names spring up in dreams. This could be because of the immense research parents do on names before their child is born, that the favorable ones – and even the unfavorable ones – automatically get registered in the brain and form a dream.

Daddy Dreams

When a woman’s pregnant, it isn’t just her who experiences vivid dreams – at times, daddys to be have equally baffling visions! Most dads to be fear that having a baby will compromise their masculinity in some way. This results in a higher number of sexual dreams where they see themselves making love to women besides their wife. Experts say these dreams do not signify that the man wants to cheat – they are just a way for him to feel triumphant. Some prospective fathers also dream of being left alone, or being lost – this is simply fears of losing importance for their spouse or feeling left out of the whole mom-baby bond. Discussing your fears with your partner can greatly help allay these fears and increase intimacy between the couple as well.

Our dreams reflect our state of mind. Not only pregnancy, any life changing event such as a wedding, a new job, a new house, can trigger emotions in the brain that take the shape of dream sequences. They may or may not mean something, but it is wise not to dwell on them too much, and look forward to the future.

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